George wheeler



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE WHEELER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BOOT-JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 28,927, dated June 26, 1860.

To all whom t 'may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WHEELER, of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Boot-J ack; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to `the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is perspective view of the structure complete, and Fig. 2 is an elevation of a portion detached.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in both figures.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improved jack, I will proceed to describe the construction and operation of the same.

a is the base piece, made of cast iron in the form represented or in any other proper form. One end of this base-piece is forked, as shown at a', as, in a manner similar to an ordinary boot jack, and for a similar purpose. Feet, 1, l, extend from the prongs, a', a', to give the whole a firm base. On the sides of a just back of the fork, I form sockets with the sides beveled inwardly, for the purpose of receiving the dovetailed ends, 2, of the standards b, holding them firmly when in place, but allowing of ready removal o-r replacement. These standards Z), have projecting pins 3, 3, &c. upon their front edges for the purpose of receiving the straps of a boot, and supporting it, as represented; and handles 4, 4, at their upper ends.

The standards b, I), are not perpendicular in either direction, as is clearly shown in Fig. l, for the following reasons: First, they fit the different sizes of boots bettershort and small boots hanging on the lower pins, and long and large boots on those higher up and farther apart. Second-the strain in pulling on a boot coming in lines drawn from the sides of the heel to the points of support would, were the standards b, b, parallel, tend to draw their upper ends together and break them off near the base; but by inclining them outwardly in the manner shown this strain comes in nearly the direction of their length, engendering very convenient position for inserting the foot.

The pins 3, 3, &c. are made larger in the middlerthan at a little distance therefrom, for the purpose of causing the strain to come in such a manner upon the straps as to partially relieve the edges where a fracture is most likely to commence.

The operation is as follows: The boot is hung upon those pins best suited to its size and length, and the foot is placed therein. The Weight of the body being then trans- 'ferred to that foot, the boot is drawn on with great ease and expedition. By simply lifting the foot the straps slip oft1 the pins, and the boot is released from the instrument. A lifting force applied to handle, 4, 4, now liberates b, b, from a and the whole may be put aside until again wanted. In pulling off the boot, the prongs as, serve as an ordinary boot-jack, the handles 4, 4, serving to steady the body and to hold down the apparatus during the operation.

The advantages of my improved ack over all others before known are: its portability-due to the standards being detachable and capable of lying in a small compass; its lightness-due to the direction in which the strain is received through the inclined standards; its simplicity-being composed of but three pieces; and its cheapness-the latter quality arising from the small quantity of material required and the simplicity of its construction.

Having thus fully described my improvement what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

The new article of manufact-ure herein described, consisting of the forked base piece a, and the detachable inclined standards 6,1), with the swelled pins 3, 3, arranged in the manner and so as to combine the advantages herein set forth.

GEO. WHEELER. lVitnesses:

CHARLES EASTON, G. FREDK. ZIEGLER. 

